While bullying of LGBT teenagers is still all too common, one graduating senior in Colorado has shared his largely positive experience of being out throughout his high school career.

In a video circulating widely on the Internet, Ted Chalfen gives a moving speech to his graduating class at Fairview High School in Boulder. He made the decision to be out beginning in his freshman year, and he feared he would “endure taunting, social ostracization, and even physical abuse,” he says. Instead, he found acceptance.

“The response I have received, by and large, has been stunning,” he says. “The amount of people who actually seemed happy to hear that I was gay outnumbered those who didn’t care, and those who didn’t care far outnumbered the small group who reacted negatively.”